Kurdistan
Peshmerga officers carry the dead body of Akam Omar at the Sulaimani International Airport on December 17, 2022. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The dead body of the commander of Sulaimani-based Peshmerga commando forces was returned to the Kurdistan Region from Germany on Saturday, nearly two months after being injured in a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) IED attack.
Akam Omar died in a German hospital on Monday after being critically injured in the midst of an anti-ISIS operation in Garmiyan administration’s Qum Palik village on October 19.
A large number of Kurdish and foreign officials and commanders attended a ceremony at Sulaimani International Airport, organised to welcome the dead body of Omar on Saturday.
“Akam was a warrior. He fought for Kurdistan. He wanted nothing for himself. All he wished [for] was a free Kurdistan and a united people. I promise you we will can what we can to make Akam’s dream a reality,” said Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), in a speech during the event.
The force which the slain commander headed is affiliated to the PUK.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraqi land in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
The militants have taken shelter in a security vacuum in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.
Akam Omar died in a German hospital on Monday after being critically injured in the midst of an anti-ISIS operation in Garmiyan administration’s Qum Palik village on October 19.
A large number of Kurdish and foreign officials and commanders attended a ceremony at Sulaimani International Airport, organised to welcome the dead body of Omar on Saturday.
“Akam was a warrior. He fought for Kurdistan. He wanted nothing for himself. All he wished [for] was a free Kurdistan and a united people. I promise you we will can what we can to make Akam’s dream a reality,” said Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), in a speech during the event.
The force which the slain commander headed is affiliated to the PUK.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraqi land in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
The militants have taken shelter in a security vacuum in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.
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